Invercargill Brewery has produced its second Boysenbeery beer: the first won a gold medal and was best in its class at last year's BrewNZ competition.
Here is a wheat beer with a difference, not only because of the boysenberries in it, but because a Belgian wheat-beer yeast has been used to produce hints of orange and spice rather than the banana and clove characters produced by German yeast.
The fruit makes up about 15% of the beer's volume and that amount of concentrate is more than in many fruit drinks, according to brewer Steve Nally.
Instead of hop bitterness, the beer relies on tartness of the berries. The fruit has turned this 6.7% brew into the colour of a claret wine, with a frothy pink head.
As I drank it, I wanted a slice of baked ham straight out of the oven with it. Perhaps a couple of bottles on the table for Christmas dinner? It is on tap and in 640ml bottles ($9.60) at the brewery and can be found at local trust outlets.
Nally loves playing around with fruit. His first fruit beer was Cherry Spike (a tribute to British comedian the late Spike Milligan) in 2005. But the Central Otago table cherries lacked the acidity of sour cherries and he was not happy with the result.
• Ginger beer
Monteith's has released its popular Summer Ale (5%) for the 11th year. It has a touch of sweetness from rata honey, quickly followed by ginger to make it a refreshing drop during the hot months.
This year's ale is delicious because of more obvious honey character and slightly less ginger bite. This beer suits salads, fresh fruit and barbecued meat and seafood. It retails for about $15 a six-pack and $26 a dozen.
• Not new
Talking of ginger and berries, adding things other than the necessary malt and yeast to beer is not new and not unusual.
The most common addition is hops to impart bitterness. Hop was regarded as an antiseptic more than 2000 years ago, but was not added to beer until about 1100AD to add flavour and as a preservative.
Before hop, brews were flavoured with such things as ginger, anise, rosemary, juniper and even bark.
• Another cider
Mac's has introduced Isaac's Cider (5%) to join the recently released Monteith's Crushed Apple Cider (4.5%).
Both producers, Lion (Mac's) and DB (Monteith's) have obviously noticed that in Australia, France and Spain, cider is the fastest-growing alcoholic beverage.
Mac's is named after Sir Isaac Newton who, while sitting under an apple tree in 1665, noticed a falling apple, which led him to develop his law of gravity.
It is rich and full-flavoured; Monteith's greener and more refreshing.
I will have Monteith's during summer and be warmed a little more in winter by Mac's.
Mac's is $15 for a six-pack; Monteith's is the same price for a four-pack.
